Basketball has become a very popular sport played by amateurs and professionals alike. The sport is often broadcasted on local and national television and is played by professional national basketball association teams, collegiate teams, and regional schools. Amateurs often play basketball in residential driveways, at local recreational centers, at parks, and the like. The game of basketball is typically played on a playing surface identified as a basketball court and two basketball hoops are positioned at opposite ends of the basketball court and situated a predetermined height from the court. The playing surface may include identifiers, such as circles, arcs, and a variety of straight and curved lines, to define the playing boundaries prescribed by game rules. Teams compete against each other in an effort to score the most points by throwing a basketball through the opponent's basketball hoop.
Conventional basketball hoops include a round metal rim or hoop attached to a backboard. A netting material is suspended downward from the hoop, and the hoop is securely positioned about the lower, horizontally centered region of the backboard. The backboard is often constructed from glass, Plexiglas, or a hard thick plastic material. The diameter of the basketball hoop is larger than a basketball to allow the ball to pass easily through the hoop during play. There are a variety of different basketball hoops on the market today. Some configurations include brackets designed to permanently attach the basketball hoop to a substantially vertical surface, such as a garage, while others include columns, adjustable frames or telescoping beams that provide mobility in moving and placing the basketball hoops in different locations if desired.
One crowd-pleasing play that is often seen during the game of basketball is what is coined “a slam dunk”. A slam-dunk occurs when a player jumps through the air and forces the ball downward through the hoop with one or both hands. On occasion, the player is often seen applying a downward force on the rim of the hoop or holding onto the rim of the hoop for a split second. In rare circumstances, the downward force applied to the hoop during a slam-dunk causes the backboard to shatter resulting in the backboard glass shattering. Needless to say, the experience not only provokes the spectator's attention, but also provides an uplifting adrenaline rush engulfing the audience's attention to the game. The dramatic sights and sounds of the event instill a heightened level of interest in replicating the shattering backboard event. As such, basketball enthusiasts' desire to simulate the shattering of a basketball backboard.
What is desired is a basketball hoop that is designed to emulate the shattering of a backboard during a slam dunk of a ball through the hoop, is safe to use by children, is easy to assemble, and requires little effort in puzzling together backboard pieces for repeated use.